Hinged last.



* No. 747,162. PATENTED DEC. 15, 1903.

M. F. GLBBSON.

HINGED LAST.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

101;?7165566 F fnvew'tor- 6 aw nFGz-n ilnirrnn Starts Patented December 15, 1903.

MICHAEL F. GLEESON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

l-HNGED LAST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,162, dated December 1903- Applicatio: filed June 10 1901.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MICHAEL F. GLEESON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Hinged Last, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that form of lasts having the fore and heel parts thereof connected together by a hinge-joint; and the especial object of this invention is to provide a strong, simple, and efficient form of hinge for connecting the fore and heel parts of a last together, which can be readily and conveniently inserted into place, and in which the parts are held in place by being fitted into sockets in the fore and heel parts of the last, respectively.

A further object of this invention is to construct a hinge-joint so as to accommodate a coiled spring for normally holding the parts of the last in line with each other.

To these ends this invention consists of the hinged last and of the combinations of parts therein, as hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view, partially broken away, of a hinged last constructed according to this invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are detail perspective views of the butt-pieces forming part of the three-piece hinge preferably employed. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the hinge center piece or disk. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified construction of hinge center piece made in the form of a tube for receivinga coiled spring. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the form of spring which can be employed in connection with the center piece illustrated in Fig. 5 for normally holding the fore and heel parts of the last in line with each other, and Fig. 7 is a view of a complete hinge constructed according to my invention with a spiral spring therein for holding the fore and heel parts of the last in line with each other.

In the meet hingedlasts considerable difficulty has been experienced in securing a form of hinge or joint which is strong enough for the purpose and which can be secured in Serial No. 63,876. (No model.)

place with sufficient exactness and rigidity to produce the desired results.

In most of the hinged lasts which are now employed the hinge blades or wings are inserted into horizontal cuts or recesses from one side of the last.

The especial object of my present invention is to provide a cheaper and more reliable form of hinge-joint, and to accomplish this object the hingejoint which I preferably employ comprises two butt-pieces and a cylindrical hinge center piece, these parts being constructed so that when inserted into vertical recesses in the fore and heel parts of the last the hinge center piece will extend into both the fore and heel parts of the last, so-

that the parts of the hinge-joint will be prevented from separating and so that the parts may be permanently secured together by fastening the butt-pieces in place by means of transverse pins.

The hinge center piece ordinarily has the form of a solid disk, although in some cases I prefer to use a tubular hinge center piece which will provide a socket for receiving a coiled spring to hold the parts of the last in line with each other.

Referring to the accompanying drawings and in detail, a hinged last constructed according to myinvention, as herein illustrated, comprises a fore part 10 and a heel part 11. The fore and heel parts of the last are separated by a wedge-shaped recess, permitting the fore and heel parts to be connected or joined together by a hinge. The form of hinge which I preferably employ and as herein illustrated comprises twoflat metallic butt-pieces12,which are perforated to receive transverse pins and provided with a ring or annulus for inclosing a hinge center piece of considerable area. The hinge center piece preferably consists of a cylindrical piece or disk l t, and the parts of the last are so proportioned that when fitted into vertical sockets in the fore and heel parts of the last, respectively, and the butt-pieces pinned in place by the transverse pins 15 the parts will be permanently secured together to form a strong and efficient hinge-joint. One especial advantage in the use of a three-part hinge of this construction resides in the fact that the pieces may be stamped or punched out of sheet metal with comparatively little expense and may be secured in place with as much if not greater ease than the forms of hinges that have heretofore been employed.

When it is desired to employ a spring for holding the parts of the last in line with each other, the hinge center piece provides a convenient location within which a coiled spring may be housed, and when such a construction is desired the hinge center piece may be made in the form of a tube 16, having notches 17 for receiving and permitting the play of the arms of a coiled spring 18, the ends of which may be seated in sockets or holes 19 in the butt-pieces 12.

By housing a coiled spring within the center piece of a hinge constructed according to myinvention I have provided a construction which may be readily and quickly secured in place in a last without any cutting or fitting except that required to form the sockets which receive the butt-pieces of the hingethat is to say, when a last constructed according to my invention is provided with a spring coiled inside of the center piece of the hinge the spring and the three pieces constituting the hinge may be first assembled and fitted together and a proper tension imparted to the spring before securing the same in position in a last at allwhereas in all previous forms of hinged lasts with which I am familiar in order to apply a spring thereto the last-sections themselves have to be cut or variously fitted to receive the spring, and the tension of the spring itself in such constructions can only be tested after the complete last is assembled.

Iam aware that many changes may be made in practicing my invention by those who are skilled in the art without departing from the scope thereof as expressed in the claims. I do not wish, therefore, to be limited to the construction I have herein shown and described; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a last, the combination of the fore part, the heel part, a hinge for connecting said parts, comprising a sheet-metal buttpiece fitting into a vertical socket in the fore part, a sheet-metal butt-piece fitting into a vertical socket in the heel part, so that said butts will extend at right angles to the axis of the hinge, each of said butt-pieces having a single ring or eye, and a center piece of substantially twice the thickness of said eyes forming the pintle about which said buttpieces may turn, said parts being arranged so that the center piece will extend both into the fore part and heel part of the last.

2. In a hinged last, the combination of the forepart,the heel part, and a three-piece hinge comprising a flat metal butt-piece fitting into a vertical socket in the heel part of the last at right angles to the axis of the hinge, a flat metal butt-piece fitting into a vertical socket in the fore part of the last at right angles to the axis of the hinge, transverse pins extending parallel with the axis of the hinge for securing the butt-pieces in the fore part and heel part of the last respectively, and a hinge center piece or disk forming the pivot of the hinge, which center piece is held from lateral displacement with respect to the butt-pieces by fitting into the vertical sockets of both the fore part and the heel part of the last.

3. In ahinged last, the combination of the fore part, the heel part, a three-piece hinge comprising a flat metal butt-piece fitting into the heel part of the last, a fiat metal bnttpiece fitting into the fore part of the last, a hinge center piece, and a spiral spring mounted in the hinge center piece for normally holding theparts of the last in line with each other, said parts being'arranged so that the flat metal butt-pieces are located in planes at right angles to the axis of the hinge.

4. In a hinged last, the combination of the fore part, the heel part, a flat metal buttpiece fitting into the fore part of the last, and secured in position by transverse pins which are parallel with the axis of the hinge, a'fiat metal butt-piece fitting into a socket in the heel part of the last, and also secured in place by transverse pins parallel with the axis of the hinge, a tubular hinge center piece held in place from lateraldisplacement with respect to the butt-pieces by fitting into the sockets of the fore and heel parts of the last respectively, and a spring coiled in the form of a spiral within the tubular hinge center piece, and connected-to normally hold the fore and heel parts of thelastin line with each other.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MICHAEL F. GLEESON. Witnesses:

PHILIP W. SOUTHGATE, JOHN F. (JRowELL. 

